Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 679

“Did you say China?”

“Yeah.”

Lee Myung-hwan frowned at Lee Hyun-soo’s answer.

‘What is this all of a sudden?’ he thought.

“You know the Lord [referring to Kang Jin-ho] is in China, right?”

“This is the first I’m hearing of it.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

A subtle silence filled the room.

“Then did he just say he was going somewhere?”

“He didn’t say anything like that.”

Lee Hyun-soo leaned back on the sofa.

‘This is a big problem. He’s more out of it than I thought,’ he mused.

Even so, for someone in a position to teach the kids to just leave for China without saying a word… Even though this is an era that values autonomy, and the oppressive atmosphere is less than when he was learning, this is almost dereliction of duty.

“Then what are you guys doing right now?”

“We’re focusing on increasing our power for now.”

“Are there any problems because the Lord is away?”

“He didn’t come around that often even when he was here. So we didn’t even know he was gone.”

As Lee Hyun-soo was wondering what to say, Lee Myung-hwan asked first.

“I had a hunch where he went. And there’s nothing particularly problematic. Usually, he doesn’t come for two weeks if there’s nothing going on…”

“Ah, that’s a relief… no, that’s even more of a problem, isn’t it?”

“Hey, well, we’re learning well.”

‘What are you learning?’ Lee Hyun-soo thought.

‘What are you learning when the person teaching you comes once every two weeks?’

“Then did he go with Bator?”

“How did you know that?”

“That guy Young-gil said that Bator left after giving a bunch of instructions. So I thought, ‘Ah, Bator went somewhere,’ but I didn’t know our Lord went with him.”

“I don’t want to complain about this, but as someone who’s learning, the difference isn’t in the master’s ability, but in his motivation, so…”

“Yeah, I can see that. I’ll try to talk to him about it.”

“Thank you for your concern.”

“No, well, it’s understandable.”

Usually, a master is said to be like a parent. It means that you should trust and follow your master, but it also means that the master should take care of and teach his disciples like his own children.

But this is what it’s like.

It’s like your friends next door go to the amusement park with their fathers on their days off, eat delicious food, and have fun, but your father is just wearing a tank top, making ramen from the morning, and playing games.

‘They’ve all grown up well considering the environment they were raised in,’ Lee Hyun-soo thought.

It’s a bit strange to say that they’ve grown up when they’re all grown men.

If these guys were really children, Kang Jin-ho would have no excuse even if he was arrested for child abuse.

“But are we going to China too?”

“Yeah, that’s what I wanted to talk about. It seems like someone is targeting the Lord…”

Before he could finish his sentence, a suffocating demonic energy erupted from Lee Myung-hwan’s body. Lee Hyun-soo, overwhelmed by the thick demonic energy, couldn’t speak and bit his lip.

“Who is it?”

“Calm down first.”

“…Ah, I’m sorry.”

Lee Myung-hwan quickly retracted his demonic energy.

Lee Hyun-soo let out a deep sigh.

If it weren’t for the conversation they just had, he would have been happy that the Lord had raised such a loyal guard, but after seeing everything, what should he say….

‘It feels like I’m watching puppies following their parents who are trying to wean them,’ he thought.

At least dogs lick and suckle their puppies before weaning them. Kang Jin-ho is just….

‘That guy shouldn’t be a parent,’ Lee Hyun-soo concluded.

The kids would be pitiful.

He didn’t know how his thoughts had wandered to Kang Jin-ho’s qualifications as a parent, but Lee Hyun-soo couldn’t imagine that man taking care of his own child.

“If there are people targeting him, shouldn’t the Lord return instead of us going?”

“That’s right. But… will he come?”

“He won’t.”

Lee Hyun-soo and Lee Myung-hwan now knew Kang Jin-ho too well, and that was the problem.

“So I think we need to provide support. Actually, I can’t imagine the Lord being in danger, but… you always have to prepare for the worst-case scenario.”

“But will it be enough with just us?”

“In my opinion, you guys are the best force in the association right now.”

“…I think you’re overestimating us.”

“Overestimating…”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled bitterly.

‘You guys are underestimating yourselves,’ he thought.

It was not an empty compliment.

Of course, there are stronger people than them in the General Assembly. But most of them hold positions as protectors or elders, and they are divided into factions.

The main force among them, the Junggeol faction, has already mostly fallen apart. The remaining ones are not negligible, but they cannot be deployed to support Kang Jin-ho.

The conditions to consider were clear.

It had to be a single organization with a command system.

And they had to have a high level of loyalty to Kang Jin-ho.

And in case of an emergency, they had to be easy for Kang Jin-ho to command, and they had to have the autonomy to move on their own.

Considering all those situations, it was too obvious who he had to send.

“So, is that a no?”

“How can there be a no in an organization? If you tell us to jump into a fire, we have to jump.”

“Not that kind of answer, I’m asking if you want to go?”

“Hmm…”

Lee Myung-hwan scratched his head.

“I can’t know what they’re all thinking, but I can pick out about twenty supporters in no time. No, maybe there will be a fight among the guys who want to go, and we’ll have to pick out the best ones, and there might be violence. You’ll have to adjust that.”

“Can’t you handle it at your level?”

“Those bastards aren’t human.”

“…I understand.”

According to Lee Hyun-soo’s investigation, Lee Myung-hwan had a good grasp of the demonic flames.

But what Lee Myung-hwan was saying now was not an exaggeration. Because the reason why Lee Myung-hwan controlled the demonic flames was not because he was strong.

Due to the nature of the demonic flames who had learned demonic arts, they would rebel if you tried to suppress them with strong force. If they had divided the ranks by force, the General Assembly would have been in constant turmoil due to the power struggles within the demonic flames.

Even so, someone was needed to represent them, and Lee Myung-hwan, who had the most face time with Kang Jin-ho, was chosen.

A moderate level of strength, a moderate level of ability, and a moderate personality.

Lee Myung-hwan was able to lead the demonic flames because he had the ability not to cause major trouble in all those areas.

But what if Lee Myung-hwan tried to do something forcefully?

‘Well, what could happen…’ Lee Hyun-soo wondered.

These guys had an extreme aversion to being suppressed by force, but their fear of Kang Jin-ho was even greater. Didn’t they see how they were growling like wolves, but as soon as Kang Jin-ho spoke, they tucked their tails like scared dogs?

Even at the moment when their dissatisfaction with Lee Myung-hwan was at its peak, they could not help but look at Kang Jin-ho’s face. They could not move unless they were sure that Kang Jin-ho would not be upset even if they pulled Lee Myung-hwan down.

‘Of course, this guy doesn’t seem to have the guts to know that and use it,’ Lee Hyun-soo thought, chuckling to himself.

Lee Myung-hwan was a talented person, but he didn’t have the ability to plan anything on his own. He was like a workhorse. He was good at doing what he was told, but if he wasn’t told, he would just sit in a corner and eat.

“Anyway, try to organize it and tell me if there’s a problem.”

“When do we leave?”

“As early as tomorrow, or within three days at the latest.”

“I understand.”

Lee Myung-hwan got up from his seat and bowed his head.

“Then.”

“Ugh, whew.”

Lee Hyun-soo, who had sent Lee Myung-hwan out, also put his coffee cup in the sink and left the office.

There was a place he had to go now.

Woo-oong.

‘This is strange, really,’ Lee Hyun-soo thought.

Lee Hyun-soo was unfamiliar with the scene in front of him. Come to think of it, it shouldn’t be unfamiliar. This was training. He was half a martial artist, so he had spent his whole life watching others train. About half of them were also involved in that training.

For a martial artist, training is inseparable from life.

But that was why the sense of incongruity was so strong.

It was completely different from the training he had seen so far. As he was used to Eastern training, the gap he felt while watching other training was severe.

“Have you come?”

“Ah, yes.”

Lee Hyun-soo blushed.

He should have greeted him first, but he missed the timing. He was so engrossed in the training that he made a superior speak to him first. It was a clear mistake.

“I’m sorry. It was a bit fascinating.”

“Fascinating?”

“Yes. It’s different from our training methods.”

“Huhu, I suppose it could be. But is there anything fascinating about it? After all, using energy is all the same.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

However, the way they used that energy was different.

Woo-oong.

The people who had taken their positions were gathering both hands in front of their chests. And from time to time, pure white lights were emitted from their gathered hands.

‘It’s different,’ Lee Hyun-soo thought.

Even though Lee Hyun-soo was not deeply versed in martial arts, he could tell at a glance that the light was different from the internal energy they used. Internal energy is an energy that is assimilated into the body.

The natural energy that flows in the world. It takes in the external energy (外氣) and turns it into internal energy (內氣). Internal energy is created through that series of processes.

But that light was different from internal energy. It was visible.

The external energy flowing around those who were training was clearly gathering at their fingertips and emitting light.

The external energy was not going into the body, but was gathering directly at the fingertips and becoming tangible.

“It’s fascinating.”

“There’s nothing fascinating about it. It’s just a different method.”

Wiggins smiled gently.

“When I was young, I also wondered which was superior, Eastern martial arts or Western martial arts. I had my own pride. But as I got older, I realized that it was a useless thought.”

“Useless?”

“That’s right. What’s important is not martial arts, but the person. Would the Lord have been weak just because he learned Western martial arts?”

“…That’s definitely not the case.”

“That’s right. In the end, it’s what a person learns, so what’s important is the person. What’s important is which side someone can learn more efficiently.”

“I understand.”

Lee Hyun-soo looked at the people training with slightly excited eyes.

“Is the efficiency okay?”

“Well, they’re motivated, and they haven’t seen any results in Eastern martial arts, so their growth rate is fast. There are some who are falling behind, but that can’t be helped.”

“Of course. It’s enough if only those who follow get stronger.”

“Yeah. I’m glad the results of the evaluation are good.”

“Evaluation.”

Lee Hyun-soo bowed his head as if he was sorry. In front of this person, he lowered his head in a different way than he did with Kang Jin-ho. If his feelings for Kang Jin-ho were admiration, his feelings for this person could be called respect.

“Then, what brings a busy person like you here?”

“I have something to tell you about the Lord who is in China.”

“Huh? The Lord?”

Lee Hyun-soo’s face became serious.